The Mayor of Casterbridge

The Mayor of Casterbridge

My Review of the novel ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’. This novel is written by Thomas Hardy. Thomas Hardy’s original work bore the title The Life and Death of the Mayor of Casterbridge, the story of a Man of Character. It is a long story full of incident and colour relating to his favourite Wessex. In this novel we can find the story of Michael Henchard.

One day Michael Henchard decided to sells his wife Susan and child to a passing sailor. When he was recover from drunk at that time he realise and he regrets his actions,gives up alcohol for twenty one years, and tries to locate them but can’t find them. He proceeds to the town of Casterbridge where he works very hard to rise up to be mayor of the town. But when his ‘widowed’ wife Susan returns with his grown-up daughter, Elizabeth, Elizabeth Jane, he is compelled to do the right thing and marry her. Intertwined with all this is his new assistant, Donald Farfrae, a man Elizabeth-Jane has taken a shine to. 

In this Novel we find that, Henchard is a complex character, but one the reader understands. Donald Farfrae is not the focus of the book. As for the female characters, Elizabeth-Jane is something of an insipid paragon of virtue. Susan and Lucetta are distinctly unmemorable but the array of incidental characters are fascinating enough.

Thus, we can say that Hardy’s representation of Henchard as a man struggling to master guilt, jealousy and the desire for revenge throughout the book is a powerful one. So, here my humble request to all friends please read this novel.